When I looked out the window, I didn’t believe it. Rose hates being brushed, fights it all the way, and I have never been able to get her to sit still for long without holding her down and bellowing at her. She loves Maria, as do all of the living things on the farm, and Maria was talking softly to her and Rose actually seemed to be loving it, to my complete amazement. It was a very touching thing to see. Maria exudes love. She is the most loving person I have known and the animals pick it up. But Rose sitting still for brushing? Wow.

__ Spring Bedlam Farm notecards are onsale at Redux. Chickens, flowers, eggs.

On Friday, March 26, at 7 p.m., my daughter Emma Span and I will be the Red Fox Bookstore in Glens Falls, N.Y. to celebrate her new book, “90 per cent of the game is half mental,” and to offer a sneak preview of my novel, “Rose In A Storm,” out in October. This will be the first reading from the novel. Em and I will also talk about our writing lives. She is bringing Pearl, the wonderful Yellow Lab and writing dog.

Em and I will also be at Northshire Books, Manchester, Vt. on May 8. You can check it all out on Em’s new website.